Gasp! Okay, Italian squares are already magical, but just imagine turning a corner – gelato in hand – and seeing THIS? These pieces are the work of Italian artist Fabio Viale. I had so many questions, especially about how he applies those gorgeous tattoos?! Luckily, I found an interview Fabio did with designboom earlier this year. Here are a couple of Qs, and the corresponding A’s:

designboom (DB): why don’t you create your own busts, your own figures, and instead prefer to take classic iconic references?

fabio viale (FV): the images that come to us from the past do not belong to simple sculptures: they are icons, they are symbols, which have been able to resist in time. I don’t think it’s a matter of aesthetics or content, but rather of survival during the historical periods. I’ve always been attracted to mysteries, such as the mona lisa (leonardo) or the pietà (michelangelo), and their study has led me, during their reproduction, to understand the artist’s personality more analytically which these works generated.

DB: which technique did you use to tattoo your marble work?

FV: when I decided to tattoo the marble, I realized that it was very important not to paint it, but being able to make the color penetrate into the porosity that is proper to this material. only in this way I could reach the effect of the tattoo on human skin in the most realistic way. experimenting with colors and surfaces: this was the beginning that then led me to a wise mix of texture and color chemistry.

Ah-mazing. Happy Monday. {thanks to @underthehickory for sending me a link to Fabio’s work.}